China makes new attempt to approve 'super embassy' in London – Telegraph

The Chinese government has revived its efforts to build a massive embassy complex in the heart of London, The Telegraph reported on Saturday. The embassy complex is expected to be ten times larger than China's current diplomatic hub in the Marylebone district of central London. Opponents of the plans, including local residents and some British MPs, argued that the embassy would attract anti-Chinese protesters and threaten public safety in the area. Parliament passed a motion in 2021 condemning China's treatment of its Uyghur Muslim minority as "Genocide." The motion was condemned by the Chinese Embassy in London as "An outrageous insult and affront to the Chinese people." Beijing resubmitted its embassy plans several weeks after last month's general election, which was won in a landslide by the Labour Party. According to British media reports, Foreign Secretary David Lammy plans to visit China in September, amid what the government has called an "Audit" of its relations with the Asian superpower. Former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith told The Telegraph that Beijing was likely waiting for Labour to take power, to see if the party "Can be persuaded into giving them the embassy it wants." However, it remains unclear whether Labour's China policy will differ greatly from that of the Conservatives.